District



(ModeL) I i S. STRONG & B. BURNSTINE.

MAIL BAG FASTENER.

No. 249,689. I Patented Nov. 15,1881.

llirnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL STRONG AND BERNARD BURNSTINE, OF VASIIINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA; SAID STRONG ASSIGNOR TO SAID BURNSTINE.v

MAIL-BAG FASTENER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 249,689, dated November 15, 1881.

' Application filed June 27, 1881. (Model) To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, SAMUEL STRONG and BERNARD BURNSTINE, citizens of the United States, residing at Washington, inthe county of Washington and District of Columbia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mail-Bag Fasteners; and-we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will ena- 1o ble others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which formfa part of this specification.

Our invention relates to improvements in mail-bag fasteners, which are also applicable to other bags; and'ourobjectis to provide abagfastener combining a flanged plate of metal with a plate or plates placed between said flanges 2o anda screw-boltfor binding the parts together, the interior surface of the flanged portion of the plate or plates being provided with segmental recesses for the passage of the cord which closes the mouth of the bag, as will be 2 5 more fully described hereinafter.

We attain these objects by the use of the devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view, showing a portion ofabag, the manner of passingthe cord through the neck of the same, a portion of the cord, the fastener, and a chain for securing it to the bag. Fig. 2 is a plan view of a portion of the fastener, showing the cord in position for being clamped. Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation, showing one method of constructing the clamp or fastener, the clamping-screw being shown in position; and Fig. 4 is a sectional view of a fastener of a modified form.

40 Similar letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

In constructingbag-fasteners ofour improved form we provide a box, A, of malleable iron, or of any other suitable metal or substance, open 5 upon one of its sides, and in the inner surface of said box form two segmental grooves, which are furnished with projections, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Into the open side of the box A there is fitted a plate, B, of metal or other suitable substance, it being of such dimensions as to cause it to fit snugly in the aperture formed for its reception, and thus prevent the entrance of dirt or any other substance that would affect the operation of the device, the whole constituting an apparatus .which, owing to its construction, is not liable to derangement or to be quickly worn out. In the inner surface of this plate there are formed two segmental grooves corresponding to those in the box. These grooves, when the plate is in position, register with those in the box, and together they form apertures through which the two parts of thecord O 0 pass, upon which the fastener may be firmly secured or allowed to move freely, as desired. For the purpose of securing the fastener upon the cords just alluded to, there is provided a thumb-screw, D, the outer end of which is provided with a thread, which enters a female screw formed in the plate B, the remaining portion moving freely in the outer portion of box A. I For the purpose of preventing the screw from being lost or displaced we prefer to place upon its outer end, after it has been placed in position, a washer, D, and to rivet the end of the screw down upon it but, if preferred, a small nut may be placed thereon for the same purpose. The fastener, after being constructed substantially as described, is placed upon the cords, or upon two parts of one cord, and when the bag is closed, as represented in Fig. 1, is slipped up against the neck thereof, and the thumb-screw isturned so as to cause the cord to be tightly clamped in the grooves formed in the box and plate, such clamping, owing to the fact that the grooves are provided with projecting teeth or edges, rendering it impossible for the fastener to move, and compelling it to remain in its adjusted position while being handled or transported, even though the cord should be oov- 9o ered with ice.

Whenit becomes desirable to open the mouth of the bag it is only necessary to turn the thumb-screw backward far enough to allow the parts of the fastener to move apart sufficiently to loosen their hold upon the cord or cords, when, by pulling upon it, it will slide upon the cords and allow the opening to take place.

For the purpose of facilitating the opening of the mouth of the bag, as above described,

there is east upon or secured to one edge of I tion being shownin a patent granted to James box A a projection, E, in which there is formed an aperture, through which passes one link of a chain, E, the opposite end of which is secured to the bag. This combination of parts renders it impossible for the fastener to be slipped off from the cords and thus be lost, and at the same time very much facilitates the opening of the mouth of the bag, as by releasing the fastener from its hold upon the cords and pulling upon the chain such opening is readily accomplished.

The modification shown in Fig. 4 consists in placing in the box Atwo plates instead of one, and forming the segmental grooves in their inner faces, thus changing slightly the construction of the device without in any sense changing its mode of operation.

-We are aware that it is not novel to con struct bag-fasteners of two parts held together and made to clamp the cord which holds the mouth of the bag closed by means of a bolt passing through said parts, such a construc- P.'TO11IIZLI], May 9, 1876, No. 177,302, and in one granted to Edward W. Cox on the 22d of October, 1878, No. 209,233. We do not, therefore, claim such a device, broadly; but,

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A bag-fitstener consisting of the parts A, B, and D, the part A being provided with flanges, between which the part B enters, said lastnamed part being held in position and made to 5 clamp the cord which closes the mouth of the bag by the part D, segmental grooves being formed in the parts A and B for the passage of said cord, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures 40 in presence of two witnesses. i

SAMUEL STRONG. BERNARD BURNSTINE.

\Vitnesses:

G. M. OONNELL, A. RUPPERT. 

